Guntersville Electric Board customers warned of another scam

Guntersville Electric Board customers warned of another scam

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Guntersville Electric Board customers received something that might have been alarming to some with their bills this week.

“It is a scam, that’s not what we do,” Guntersville Electric Board Manager Tommy Troup says. He’s talking about phone calls some customers got from someone claiming to be a representative of the Electric Board. Residents got a white notification included with their bills this month, warning them not to fall victim of this latest scam that asks potential victims to meet a heavy demand. “They give credit card information, or prepaid credit card information immediately to pay their electric bill and avoid the disruption in service,” Troup says.

Troup says the Board will never call customers asking for a credit card number, and he wants to get the word out that this scam is going around the city. “We do get a lot of telephone calls,” Guntersville Police Chief Investigator John East says.

Investigators say this type of aggressive scam is common.”It seems now that the scams are taking a more of a sense of urgency on the victim,” Chief Investigator East says, “That they have to act now to do something, to prevent something bad from happening to them.”

Investigators say to contact local law enforcement if you receive a suspicious phone call. The Electric Board says a member will be available to speak on the scam to any concerned customers.